Pauvre Pierrot

Restored by Julien Pappé in 1993 with a score by Gaston Paulin, Émile Reynaud’s fascinating animated short film sees the eponymous poor soul attempting to serenade his dearest love, Columbine, only to be scared away by another suitor, the nefarious Harlequin. The film originally debuted in 1892 at Le Musée Grévin, Paris, using the director’s patented Théâtre Optique system, which projected its hand-painted images onto a screen using a series of mirrors.